security blanket

See synonyms for security blanket on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a blanket or other familiar item carried especially by a young child to provide reassurance and a feeling of psychological security.

  2. someone or something that gives a person a sense of protection or a feeling of security: His wealthy uncle is his security blanket.

Origin of security blanket

1
First recorded in 1965–70

Words Nearby security blanket

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use security blanket in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for security blanket

security blanket

noun
  1. a policy of temporary secrecy by police or those in charge of security, in order to protect a person, place, etc, threatened with danger, from further risk

  2. a baby's blanket, soft toy, etc, to which a baby or young child becomes very attached, using it as a comforter

  1. informal anything used or thought of as providing reassurance

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with security blanket

security blanket

Something that dispels anxiety, as in I always carry my appointments calendar; it's my security blanket. This colloquial term, dating from about 1960, was at first (and still is) used for the blanket or toy or other object held by a young child to reduce anxiety.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.